St. Louis Ballpark Village is a planned $650 million development in downtown St. Louis, Missouri that will occupy the site of the previous Busch Stadium. It will include about of retail shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, 400 residential units, of office space, and 2,000 parking spaces.

The primary developer is the Cordish Company of Baltimore, Maryland.

A finalized agreement was reached in mid-July 2008. Construction will begin in late August.

Planning for Ballpark Village began in 1999 when the Cardinals began looking at building a new stadium. When plans for the new Busch Stadium were finalized, the Cardinals entered into an agreement with the City of St. Louis and have a stake in the completion of the development. Under the agreement, at least one block of the Village must be completed by 2007, while the entire development must be finished by 2011. If Ballpark Village is not completed by 2011, the Cardinals will pay a $3 million fine per year until the project is finished.

Development hit a major snag in March 2008, when the Centene Corp. backed out of a plan to put their corporate headquarters in Ballpark Village. The barren, muddy and rainwater-filled site, along with the continued delays and unfulfilled promises have led to local dissatisfaction and grumbling about what is perceived as an eyesore in the heart of downtown St. Louis. Critics of Ballpark Village have begun referring to it as "Lake DeWitt" after Cardinals president Bill DeWitt.

References

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/07/21/daily40.html

External links

• Cordish page on Ballpark Village
• City of St. Louis page on Ballpark Village
• Westendword.com news story on Ballpark Village
• St. Louis Business Journal article on Ballpark Village
• St. Louis Magazine story on Ballpark Village